Reclining attachment for chairs



(No Model.)

J. I. STOCKTON. A REGLINING ATTACHMENT FOR CHAIRS.

No. 375,840. Patented Jan. 8, 1888.

will me es "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES IRTON STOCKTON, OF HARTSELLS, ALABAMA.

RECLINING ATTACHMENT FOR CHAIRS.

QaPECIPICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 375,840, dated January3, 1888.

Application filed August 2, 1887. Serial No. 245,946. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it nmy concern.-

Be it known that I, J AMES IRToN STOCKTON, acitizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Hartsells, in the county of Morgan and State ofAlabama, have invented a new and useful Improvement in RecliningAttachments for Chairs, of which the following is a specification.

'M'y invention relates to a reclining attachment.for chairs; and itconsists in a certain novel device to be attached to the back of anyordinary chair, which, when not in use, may be swung under the same andout of the way; but when it is desired to recline in the chair theattachment is swung out and the chair may be tilted back at any desiredangle with perfoot safety to the occupant.

The invention consists, further, in certain details of construction,more fully set forth hereinafter, and specifically pointed out in theclaims.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a chair having one ofmy rec1iners attached'thereto in operative position. Fig. 2 is a detailview of the device in its folded position, the top of the chair beingbroken off. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the latch-bars.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A designates the swinging legs,which are hinged at the upper ends to the rear standards of the chair,about on a level with the seat thereof, and the lower'ends thereof arejoined by a round or crossbar, B.

O designates a bar which is secured at the ends to the legs A A, a shortdistance above the crossbar, and on the said bar 0 are journaled theouter ends of the latch-bars D, which are connected about midway oftheir length by the crossbar E, and provided at the inner ends, on theunder side, with the notches F F, to engage the round of thechair towhich the device is attached. A series of perforations,

d d, are formed in the outer ends of the latch bars, through which topass the bar 0, to journal the latches to the legs A, thus enabling thedegree of inclination of the chair to be varied at will.

It will be seen that when the recliner is not in use thelegs A hang downat the back of the same, with the lower ends thereof held above thefloor and the latch disposed under the seat of the chair out of the way.\Vhen it is de sired to use the device, the legs are swung out (orrearwardly) until the notches in the under sides of thelatches engageover the lower round of the chair. The occupant may now lean or tilt thechair back and the lower ends of the legs will rest on the floor andmaintain the chair at the desired inclination.

It will be readily seen that this device is very simple in constructionand will avoid the danger of scratching the chairs and other furniture,as when this is used there is no necessity oflcaning back againstanother article of furniture or the wall.

Other means of adjusting the degree of inclination may be had-as, forinstance, a series of notches, F, may be cut in the under side of thelatch-bars, thus enabling the lower ends of the legs to be held at agreater or less distance from the lower ends of the legs of the chair.

I do not limit myself strictly to the precise construction herein shownand described, as slight changes may be made therein without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim-- 1. A chair-reclinercomprising the legs AA,

hinged at their upper ends to the rear side of the chair and shorterthan the distance from the hinges to the ends of the chair-legs, so asto fold against'the chair, the pivot-bar 0, secured between the legs AA, and the adjustable latch-bars D, pivoted on said bar 0 and engagingthe rear round of the chair, substantially as described.

2. The chair-recliner comprising the legs A A, hinged at the upper endsto the rear side of the chair and shorter than the distance from thehinges to the ends of the chair-legs, so as to fold against the chair,brace or cross-bar B, secured thereto at the lower ends, pivot-bar G,secured at the ends in the said legs, and the adjustable latch-bars D D,pivotedat theouter ends on the said piv0t-bar O and having the notches FF in theinner ends to engage over the round of the chair, substantiallyas and for the purpose set forth.

3. The herein-described chair-recliner,comprising the legs A A, hingedto the rear side of the chair, the bar 0, secured at the ends in thesaid legs, and the latch-bars D, having a series of perforations, d d,in the outer end of each latch, through any aligned pair of which thebar 0 is passed, the said latches also having 5 the notches in the innerends, on the under side, to engage over one of the rounds of the chair,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in pres- IO ence of two witnesses.

JAMES IRTON STOCKTON.

\Vitnesses:

JOHN C. ORR, W. H. SIMPSON.

